Birthday Girl
by Rose Stetson
Summary: The guys remember Carter's birthday Season 1 no dancing
1. The Idea

**Birthday Girl**

**Season 1; answer to challenge on sjchallenge- I can't remember which one right now, but…the story is still here…**

Jack strolled into Daniel's office. "Hey, Danny."

Daniel looked up. "Hello?"

There was a pause as Jack looked around the room.

"Did I forget something?"

"No."

"Then…why are you here?"

Jack picked up one of Daniel's knickknacks. "Got any ideas for Carter's birthday?"

Daniel eyed the object in Jack's hands wearily. "It's her birthday?"

"Not yet…we still have a couple weeks."

Jack put down the article, and Daniel returned to his work. "So…" Daniel said, absently.

"So, no ideas, huh?"

"Wha-?" He looked back up. "Oh, sorry, I just…you caught me in the middle of a translation."

"Sorry. I just thought that we should decide if we're doing a group gift, and if so, what we're going to get her."

"Well, did you have an idea for a group gift?"

Jack looked uncomfortable. "She's a little…uptight, don't you think?"

"Uh…"

"She seems like the kind of woman who thinks she needs to look tough, but really just wants to feel feminine and beautiful." Jack said, thoughtfully.

Daniel just stared at Jack.

"What?"

"Who'd have thought?"

"What?"

"That you know so much about women!" Daniel replied.

"That's what you get for having six sisters."

"SIX?" Daniel asked.

"Uh-huh."

"So, you do have an idea."

Jack shrugged. "She's a lot like my sister Lizzie."

"So?"

"So what?"

"What should we get Sam?"

"Oh…I thought she would enjoy a week at one of the spas in California."

"A week?"

"Yeah…Lizzie's favorite is…"

"Never mind which Spa…Sam at a spa!" Daniel asked.

"Yeah. Good idea?"

Daniel thought about it.

"Actually, it's a VERY good idea."

"Great. I'll start working on the arrangements. Now, the Air Force…"

Daniel just looked at him.

"I have a few markers I can call in…anyway, I know a pilot who can get her into Palo Alto, then I'll call Henry, and he'll get her a reservation at the Seaside Spa and Resort, and then, all we have to do is get General Hammond to get her the time off." Jack said, expertly.

"Henry?"

"Lizzie's favorite masseuse. He'll be able to get us a discount and everything! Whenever we go through him, Lizzie is treated like a queen. If we go through the agency, there's a slimmer possibility."

Daniel just smiled. "I think she's going to be very, very surprised."


	2. The Execution

Samantha Carter was exhausted as she walked up the sidewalk to her house. She glanced at the envelopes that she had in her hands. Bills, a letter from Mark, apaycheck, and a letter from a spa. Ordinarily, she would have thrown it away, but it was rather close to her birthday, and she might as well…

She decided to open Mark's letter first.

_Dear Sammy,_

_Happy Birthday to you! Expect a surprise in the mail! We thought of it the moment we thought of your birthday!_

_Love,_

_Mark, Tammy, Chris, and Lizzie_

_P.S. We miss you! Come visit soon!_

She smiled. Whatever had to do with the spa HAD to do with them! She opened the letter and there was a confirmation of her reservation. Eight days at a luxurious spa! She smiled for the first time in weeks…genuinely smiled, all evidence of her exhaustion eliminated. Then, she realized when the date was set…

"I leave tomorrow!"

The phone rang, and she ran to get it. "Carter."

"Major, it's General Hammond."

She straightened. "Yes, sir?"

"I forgot to let you know that you have the next week and a half off…you've done some great work."

She practically gasped. "Thank you, sir. It looks like I'm going to California."

"Well, have fun."

She hung up. Just then, the phone rang again. "Hello?"

"I'm Rick Dean. I'm going to be your pilot to Palo Alto."

She just gaped. "Thank you."

"I'll have a car pick you up at your home at 12:30 in the afternoon. The flight will only take about an hour and a half, and so, you'll be at the spa by 1 pm Pacific Time. Sound good?"

_Does that sound good? Too good to be real!_

"Uh, yeah…sounds really good."

"Okay. Oh, and by the way…happy birthday!"

So, it was a birthday present. Now, she was certain that it was her brother. She started day-dreaming about the spa. It would be so nice to be able to let her hair down and just…be pampered and pretty!

She sighed. The tension was already leaving her body.

* * *

_Anybody catch the reference I had to a crew member on Stargate? Can anybody tell me what he does? Cyber cookies if you can tell me!_


	3. The Spa

_Rick Dean is a lighting technician. I would NOT insult your intelligence by making a reference to RDA and ask you if you could see it… I found Rick Dean quite humorous because his first and last names are RDA's first and middle names. Anyway, on to the long-awaited Chapter 3!

* * *

_

Sam arrived at the spa at 12:45 pm Pacific Standard Time. She was wearing light cotton capris, a tank top and a three-quarter-length sleeve button down shirt. She was also wearing sandals and sunglasses. She inhaled and could feel the sea breeze float through her body before she exhaled. She could feel each muscle in her body loosen with each breath.

All of a sudden, she heard a voice. "Miss Carter? Samantha Carter?"

She turned to find a tall, lean, muscular man walking out of the main building. "Yes?"

"Oh, you're here! I'm Henry, your personal guide to the spa. Come in! Come in! You just look gorgeous!"

She smiled as he grabbed her bag and promptly herded her inside. Henry brought her to her little condo. "We like to give our guests the opportunity to relax with meditation in addition to whatever treatments you receive. So, we decided that individual condominiums would be the best for them. Do you like it?"

She nodded. "I love it. Thanks."

"Don't thank me. Thank Jack, he's always doing these things for his sister, Lizzie." Henry put his hand on her shoulder. "You're lucky to have him, Samantha."

She just stared at him. "Colonel O'Neill did this?"

"Jack? Yeah. I talk to him at least once a month. And he has told me a lot about you! Now, I thought we'd start out with a yoga session to relieve some of the physiological stress that he says you've been under. An astrophysicist no doubt. Anyway, that starts at three o' clock this afternoon. If you don't have yoga clothes, there are some in the closet that should work. Just call if you need anything. And when I say anything, I mean ANYTHING."

He left in the same whirl that he had been while he'd been there, and Sam stood in the middle of the room, her jaw dropped. Her commanding officer had gotten her a reservation for a SPA. And a damn nice one at that. And what was this about a sister?

The questions swirled around in her brain until she decided that she should take a bit of a nap to try and quiet her brain. She repeated what she'd said in Antarctica. "I think too much!"


End file.
